Blood Is Thicker Than Water
by Slovesemmett
Summary: Another stab at the dreaded Huntzberger dinner, a little twist with Mitchum bringing guests home with him. No longer a one shot - see the aftermath of the dinner as well!
1. Chapter 1

Setting: Season Five – But I'm A Gilmore

AN: I know, I know, it's been done a million times before, but for some reason I just have this urge to write the dreaded Huntzberger Dinner today.

Everything before the episode is the same. I'm not going to use the actual language from the Episode, I don't own it, and don't feel like looking it up.

One Shot – and alas, I don't own Gilmore Girls

* * *

They sat in the car in his parents' driveway. Logan had a deep seeded feeling that things would not go well tonight. Rory was seated next to him, and she appeared to calm. He took one more deep breath, then turned off the engine.

"Well, it's now or never Ace," he said with a deep sigh.

"Logan, it will be okay. Parents usually like me," she told him trying to reassure him.

He smiled at her statement,"Yes, but you haven't met my parents yet. They don't like anyone." He opened the door to get out of the car, really it was too late to turn back now. He mentally cursed his sister for getting him into this. He wrapped his arm around Rory's shoulder and they headed towards the front door.

"After years of Friday Night Dinners with Adolf and Ava, I'm sure I can handle one dinner with your parents," she tried to reassure him.

"You call your grandfather Adolf?" he asked in an amused voice.

"No, of course not. Grandma is Adolf." She smiled at him. When they reached the front door step she spoke again. "If you're really good I'll tell you about the time my mother wore her rhinestone penis tee shirt to Friday Night Dinner," she giggled at the memory.

Logan's eyebrows shot up, "Well that sounds like a story worth this hell."

Rory reached out to hit the doorbell, but before she reached it, the door was flung open.

"You're late!" Honor hissed.

"Sorry Honor," Logan apologized. "How bad is it?"

"Mom is stress smoking, and Grandpa is, well, Grandpa," Honor explained as she pulled them both into the house. "Come on," she urged, "I'm so glad you're here Logan, and you too Rory."

"Anything for you sis," Logan told Honor as he hugged her hello. Rory stood beside him, nodding.

"Logan? Is that you?" he heard his mother call from somewhere.

"Yes Mother, we're here," he responded with a sigh.

"Great, well lets head straight into the dining room then," Shira told him.

Logan gripped Rory's hand tightly and pulled her down the hall toward the dining room.

"Hey, is that a Velasquez?" she asked as they passed the foyer. He smiled, of course she would notice that. He merely nodded.

When they reached the dining room he noticed that there were nine chairs instead of the seven he expected. "Mother, who else is coming to dinner?" he asked.

"I don't know son, your father is bringing home some lawyer and his wife for dinner," Shira answered.

"Logan," his grandfather addressed him, "who is this?"

"I'm sorry, Mom, Grandpa, this is Rory Gilmore. Rory, this is my mother Shira, and my grandfather Elias," Logan introduced.

"It's nice to meet you Mrs. Huntzberger, Mr. Huntzberger," Rory said politely bobbing her head.

"Hello," Shira said coolly.

"Gilmore?" Elias asked. "Richard and Emily's granddaughter?"

"Yes sir," Rory confirmed.

"Well, your father is going to be late, so lets go ahead and sit down and have drinks," Shira instructed.

A sense of foreboding filled Logan, no good society family would ever start dinner without their guests, something else was up.

* * *

Drinks were served. Scotch for Logan, Josh and Elias, and gin and tonics for Honor and Rory, Shira had disappeared with her own drink moments after it was set down. Logan knew she was around the corner smoking a cigarette.

"So Grandpa, how's work?" Logan asked trying break some of the tension.

"Busy as usual, you'd know that if you ever decided to stick your head into the office," Elias barked back at him.

"So Josh, how are you?" Logan tried again, completely ignoring Elias's rant.

"I'm fine-" Josh started, but was cut off by Elias.

"Enough of this bullshit! Logan just what are you playing at?" Elias shouted.

"I'm sorry Grandfather, I have no idea what you're talking about," he answered seriously confused. Rory sat beside him quietly and paled visibly. So not the first impression he wanted his family to make.

"You bring this…" he waves his hand in Rory's direction, "girl… home. As your girlfriend! And you expect us not to react?"

"I don't see why you would react? Actually I kind of expected you to like Rory, she actually gets me to set foot inside the Yale Daily News office," he said wryly.

"She's not the proper sort of girl to be the wife of a Huntzberger," Elias growled. Shira finally saw fit to re-enter the room, and quickly took her seat on the opposite side of the table.

"Who said anything about marriage?" Rory asked quietly.

"Well dear, Logan brought you home, so that must mean something," Shira told her condescendingly.

"We've been dating less than a week!" Logan shouted. "And just why isn't Rory a proper girl?"

"Rory is the kind of girl you sleep with, not the kind of girl you marry," Elias told him. "I know from Richard and Emily that she wants to have a career of her own. That is just not conducive to being the wife of the heir to the Huntzberger empire."

"Plus, Logan, you have to consider her past," Shira added.

Logan reached down and grabbed Rory's hand. "Come on, we're going." He pushed back his chair and Rory followed suit, but before either of them could rise Mitchum called out from the foyer.

"Shira? Where are you? I'm sorry we're late, traffic was just horrible," he said as loudly as was socially acceptable.

"We're in the dining room already Mitchum," she called, then turned to Logan and hissed, "Logan, please don't leave. It will mortify your father."

Not particularly inclined to please his father Logan stood up, but Rory held his hand, pulling him back towards his chair. He looked down at her curiously.

"Let's not make things worse," she whispered when he leaned down towards him. Leave it to Rory to try and salvage the situation, even though she'd been rudely insulted by his family. He sat back down and let the scowl he was feeling overtake his face. He would stay, but he didn't have to like it.

Mitchum walked into the room followed by the older couple. "Straub and Francine, this is my family. My father, Elias, my wife Shira, my daughter Honor, and her boyfriend, Josh, my son Logan, and I'm sorry, I don't know the girl with him." He gave Logan a pointed look.

"This is my girlfriend, Rory Gilmore," Logan said proudly, using the title just to piss his grandfather off.

"And apparently his _girlfriend_," Mitchum emphasized, "Rory was it?" Rory nodded at him. "And this is Judge Hayden and his wife."

Logan tried to suppress a sigh, no matter how angry he was, he couldn't be all out rude to a judge.

"It's very nice to meet you all," Francine Hayden said politely.

As luck would have it the Hadyens were seated directly across from Logan and Rory at the table. Logan watched as Straub pulled out Francine's chair and helped her get situated before beginning a conversation with Elias who was sitting next to him at the end of the table.

"So how are you… Lorelai?" Francine asked tentatively in a quiet voice.

Logan's ears perked up, no one called Rory Lorelai, ever.

"Actually it's Rory, and I'm quite well," she answered politely. Logan blinked and gave Rory a quick glance, did he just see her wink at Francine Hayden?

"So, again, I'm sorry we're late, what did I miss?" Mitchum asked.

"You're just in time for the Huntzberger Shanghai," Logan spat bitterly.

"Excuse me?" Mitchum said.

"Logan please, we'll discuss this later, we have company now!" Elias glared at him.

"You know what Grandfather, I don't think it needs to be discussed at all," Logan retorted firmly. He felt Rory grip his hand, trying to help him remain composed.

"Oh it most certainly will be discussed, young man!"

"Okay, what's going on here?" Mitchum asked annoyed.

"It's nothing dear," Shira soothed.

"Nothing!" Logan yelled. "Rory, I think we should go."

"Hold on a minute, Logan, sit back down," Mitchum directed. "Someone tell me what's going on right this instant."

"Mom and Grandpa-" Logan started, but was cut off by Shira.

"Really, it's nothing dear. We were just explaining to him why Rory's not the proper girlfriend for the Huntzberger heir, she'd never be a suitable wife for him," Shira finally blurted out, coloring slightly at having to make such an admission in front of company. "I'm sure Francine and Straub understand our position. They have a son. I'm sure they wouldn't want their son marrying a girl like Rory."

"Just why is that Mother?" Logan asked coldly.

"Consider her breeding," Shira started.

"She's a Gilmore!" Logan exclaimed.

"Yes, she's a Gilmore on her mother's side, but what of her father? Probably some two bit gardener employed by parents," Shira retorted.

Logan looked over at Rory to see how she was holding up, and noticed that she was biting her lower lip. "You okay Ace?" he whispered. She nodded and he swore he saw the corner of her lip twitch up in a smile.

"You understand don't you Francine?" Shira asked looking for support. "You'd never want your son, Christopher right? Marrying a girl who you knew nothing about." Francine held a tightlipped smile and nodded. "How is Christopher? He's got what, one daughter now?" Shira paused and took a large sip of her drink.

"He's well," Straub answered. "Actually he has two daughters."

Rory coughed slightly beside Logan and took a sip of her gin and tonic.

"And you wouldn't want your granddaughters to marry just anyone now would you Straub? You want to make sure the Hayden fortunes are protected right?" she asked.

"Well of course," Straub replied. "We wouldn't want our granddaughter to marry just anyone. We'd need to make sure he had the right reputation, not one of those spoiled trust fund brats that runs around like he owns the world."

Logan grimaced, he felt that the judge's statement was an unnecessary jab at him, and Rory squeezed his hand tighter.

"I know exactly what you mean Straub!" Shira told him.

"Wow Mom must be blind," Honor leaned over Rory to whisper to Logan.

"It's too bad your granddaughters are so young. It would be nice to have a merger between the Huntzbergers and the Haydens," Shira said.

Rory almost choked on her drink next to Logan.

"Are you alright dear?" Francine asked.

"I'm fine, thank you," Rory replied politely.

"Actually," Straub started, his face getting slightly red. Logan watched as he looked over at Rory, and she caught his eye and made a slight face. "One of our granddaughters is about Logan's age."

"Oh we must introduce them!" Shira exclaimed.

The table was silent for a moment, and Logan could sense that something had changed be he couldn't tell what it was. His father lowered his head to his hands and his grandfather stared at his plate.

"Now a Hayden would be an appropriate wife for a Huntzberger! You understand don't you Rory? Even though you didn't grow up in society I'm sure Emily has made sure that you at least know some of the basics of how it works. I'm sure you're a perfectly nice girl, and some guy will be lucky to have you, you should just look a little lower on the society totem pole," Shira blathered on. Logan sighed deeply, would his mother never shut up?

"I'm not interested in you picking a wife for me Mother, no matter how lovely she may be. No offense Judge Hayden, Mrs. Hayden," he added politely.

Straub Hayden pushed his chair back and stood up. "I've had enough of this. I'm sorry Mitchum but we'll have to do this another time. Francine, get your coat. Rory get your coat as well."

"But Grandfather," Rory started quietly, "I came with Logan and I need to go back to Yale."

Logan looked at Rory, and a huge smile lit his face. Shira gasped.

"Your father is at our house, I'll have him take you home, or if you'd rather we can drop you back at Yale," Straub told her.

"Okay," she acquiesced. "Call me later Logan?"

"Of course Ace." He stood up at the same time she did, and leaned in to kiss her cheek. "It was lovely to meet you Judge Hayden, Mrs. Hayden," he said politely.

"Thank you?" Rory said hesitantly to the table knowing that society dictate that she thank the hostess, but not really sure exactly what to do in this situation. _Sorry _she mouthed at Logan. The remainder of the Huntzbergers remained silent as Straub and Francine ushered Rory out of the house.

* * *

Once they were gone Logan tipped his head back and laughed.

"Logan, that's enough," Mitchum said firmly.

"This is better than I could have hoped!" Logan laughed. "My mother offended a Supreme Court judge by insulting his granddaughter then tried to marry me off to the same granddaughter!"

Honor and Josh were snickering quietly. Mitchum sighed deeply and Shira was still shocked into silence.

"I didn't know!" she whispered. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't know Mom," Logan told her. "Like I told you earlier, we've been dating for a week."

"Mitchum? Elias?" she asked.

Logan smacked his forehead, that was the change at the table, his father and his grandfather knew who she was. "Yeah Dad? Grandpa? Why didn't you save Mom from making ass of her self?"

"Language Logan," Shira said sharply, then turned expectantly to her husband and her father in law.

"It didn't dawn on me until Straub mentioned that one of his granddaughters was Logan's age," Mitchum said.

"The scandal was so long ago, I'd completely forgotten that you and Mitchum weren't in Hartford at the time," Elias told her.

"She's a Gilmore _and _a Hayden," Shira said quietly.

Logan smirked as he pondered the consequences of that statement. His mother had no fear of offending Emily Gilmore. The Gilmores were an old Mayflower family with plenty of money, but they didn't have as much as the Huntzbergers had. The Haydens however were a different story. They were equally Mayflower, but they had more power, if not more money, than the Huntzbergers. The combination of Gilmore and Hayden was a knockout punch though. If all four of Rory's grandparents got together, they could decide that a Huntzberger wasn't good enough for their granddaughter, or anything else for that matter. Logan shuddered at the thought, but quickly banished it knowing that his girl had a mind of her own and wouldn't let anyone get in her way.

"Why doesn't she go by Hayden then?" Shira asked.

"Lorelai bucked tradition and refused to marry Christopher. She raised Rory on her own, but it's never been a secret as to who her father is," Mitchum explained.

"Why didn't I know then?" Shira asked.

"It's not news these days. Lorelai stayed out of society for the most part, so it just became unimportant," Elias said.

"I guess this means I have permission to marry her if I want to, huh Mom?" Logan said happily.

"Logan!" Mitchum yelled.

"I'll see you guys later, I'm going to make sure Rory is okay," he called over his shoulder as he headed for his car, laughing all the way.

* * *

**AN: Again, I own nothing – and I just realized that I can't remember when Straub died – so if he died before this episode, then that's the one thing that's different, he's still alive (although, a zombie at dinner could be fun too).**

**Also thanks to DramaQueen1103 for taking the time to read this and encouraging me to post it. (if you hate it, blame her - just kidding!!)**


	2. Chapter 2 Rory

**AN: Okay! Okay! You twisted my arm; I'm adding a second chapter to Blood Is Thicker Than Water. I had several people story alert my already completed story and decided that maybe you were right, and I was wrong. **

**So here it is: Rory's perspective on the revised dreaded Huntzberger dinner. I'm going to do the best I can to not repeat all of the dialogue, so I'm going to start her point of view where Shira and Elias insult her before Mitchum and the Haydens arrive. **

**I don't own Gilmore Girls. I just like to pretend.**

* * *

"Rory is the kind of girl you sleep with, not the kind of girl you marry," Elias told Logan. "I know from Richard and Emily that she wants to have a career of her own. That is just not conducive to being the wife of the heir to the Huntzberger empire."

"Plus, Logan, you have to consider her past," Shira added.

Rory couldn't believe her ears! She was the kind of girl you sleep with? Who said that out loud? And right in front of her nonetheless. And what the heck did Shira mean about her past? How could she possibly know about Dean? Dean was as far from the Hartford DAR gossip circle as you could possibly get. She could feel the heat rising in her cheeks. She bit the inside of her lip to keep from saying anything she would regret.

"Come on, we're going," Logan said angrily. She felt him pull on her hand as he started to stand up, and she began to slide her own chair back away from the table, but before she could get up she heard a voice, who she assumed was Mitchum, call from the other room.

"Shira? Where are you? I'm sorry we're late, traffic was just horrible."

"We're in the dining room already Mitchum," she called, then she turned to Logan and hissed, "Logan, please don't leave. It will mortify your father."

Rory wanted to be a journalist more than anything else in the world, there was no way she wanted to walk out on a dinner with the head of the largest newspaper conglomerate in the world. That was just asking to be blacklisted in the industry. She tugged on Logan's hand until he looked down at her. "Let's not make things worse," she whispered when he finally leaned down towards her.

Logan sat back down but there was a scowl she'd never seen before affixed to his face.

Based on pictures she'd seen, she knew it was Mitchum when he walked into the room. He was followed by his guests, an older couple that looked a lot like her paternal grandparents. She wasn't one hundred percent sure though, because she hadn't seen them in about five years, and didn't spend much time looking at them then.

"Straub and Francine, this is my family. My father, Elias, my wife Shira, my daughter Honor, and her boyfriend, Josh, my son Logan, and I'm sorry, I don't know the girl with him." She saw Mitchum give Logan a pointed look. Holy crap! They were her grandparents. There may be another Francine in Hartford Society, but she knew there was no other Straub.

"This is my girlfriend, Rory Gilmore," Logan said adding emphasis to the girlfriend part she knew just to irritate his family. She did her best not to cringe as she peeked up at the Haydens to see their reaction to her name, but their faces were impassive.

"And apparently his _girlfriend_," Mitchum emphasized, "Rory was it?" he asked to be sure. Rory nodded at him. "And this is Judge Hayden and his wife."

What a night! First her boyfriends' family tells her she'd not good enough for him, then her own grandparents show up and completely ignore her. Miss Manners would be getting a letter about this one.

"It's very nice to meet you all," Francine said politely, she glanced quickly in Rory's direction but Rory refused to look up at her again.

As luck would have it her grandmother sat right across from her at the table. She watched as her grandfather pulled out Francine's chair and helped her get situated before sitting down himself and beginning a conversation with Elias who was sitting next to him at the end of the table.

"So how are you… Lorelai?" Francine asked tentatively in a quiet voice.

"Actually it's Rory, and I'm quite well," she answered politely. If they were going to pretend that they didn't know her, then she would pretend she didn't know them right back. However she saw a look of pain cross her grandmother's face, and changed her mind quickly, shooting her a small wink.

"So, again, I'm sorry we're late, what did I miss?" Mitchum asked. Rory found it interesting that he cared what was going on before he arrived, he must have picked up on the scowl emanating from his son.

"You're just in time for the Huntzberger Shanghai," Logan spat bitterly.

"Excuse me?" Mitchum said.

"Logan please, we'll discuss this later, we have company now!" Elias glared at Logan. Rory refrained from rolling her eyes. Wasn't she company too?

"You know what Grandfather, I don't think it needs to be discussed at all," Logan retorted firmly. Rory squeezed his hand tightly, trying to show support and help him remain composed.

"Oh it most certainly will be discussed, young man!"

"Okay, what's going on here?" Mitchum asked, she hardly knew the man but she could clearly tell that he was annoyed.

"It's nothing dear," Shira tried to say in her best posh society voice. No wonder Emily always made snide comments about Shira Huntzberger, she was a total fake!

"Nothing!" Logan roared in anger beside her. "Rory, I think we should go." This time Rory was ready to go with him. She didn't need to be insulted for a third time. She was a confident girl, but there was only so much she could take.

"Hold on a minute, Logan, sit back down," Mitchum directed in a voice that told Rory he was a man that was used to getting his way. "Someone tell me what's going on right this instant."

"Mom and Grandpa-" Logan started to explain, but his mother cut him off.

"Really, it's nothing dear. We were just explaining to him why Rory's not the proper girlfriend for the Huntzberger heir, she'd never be a suitable wife for him," Shira said after a pregnant pause. Rory couldn't believe she'd had the nerve to repeat the insults of earlier, at least this time she had the common sense to appear embarrassed by them. "I'm sure Francine and Straub understand our position. They have a son. I'm sure they wouldn't want their son marrying a girl like Rory."

A girl like her! She felt the color rising in her cheeks again, and used the hand that wasn't currently gripping Logan's to grab on to the bottom of her chair and hold herself in her seat. What could anyone possibly find so offensive about her?

"Just why is that Mother?" Logan asked coldly. Rory was grateful that Logan asked the question because she was dying to know the answer herself. She gave his hand a squeeze hoping to convey that she was glad he was sticking up for her.

"Consider her breeding," Shira started.

Her breeding? What was she, an animal? Apparently that was what Shira meant about her past. This caused a small bit of relief to flow through her allowing her to release her grip on the chair, at least her boyfriend's mother didn't know about her affair with her married ex-boyfriend.

"She's a Gilmore!" Logan exclaimed. Exactly! Rory wanted to say with him, her ancestors came over on the Mayflower, comparatively, the Huntzbergers were _new money_ as her grandmother, Emily – she mentally corrected as she looked at Francine across the table, would say.

"Yes, she's a Gilmore on her mother's side, but what of her father? Probably some two bit gardener employed by her parents," Shira retorted.

Rory bit her lower lip harder than she had before to keep from laughing out loud. She wondered how Straub and Francine would take this comment. They seemed fine with Shira insulting her, but she was pretty sure they wouldn't stand for a slight against her father, he was after all a Hayden, and their only son.

"You okay Ace?" Logan whispered in her ear. She nodded not trusting herself not to laugh if she opened her mouth.

"You understand don't you Francine?" Shira asked continuing the conversation. "You'd never want your son, Christopher right? Marrying a girl who you knew nothing about." When Shira addressed Francine Rory looked at her to watch her reaction. She saw her grandmother pull out an expression that she'd seen many times on her other grandmother, the society equivalent of the smile and nod. "How is Christopher? He's got what, one daughter now?" Shira asked. Rory watched as she downed the rest of her third cocktail. She made a mental note to never consume that much alcohol in this type of setting.

"He's well," Straub answered gruffly. "Actually he has two daughters." Rory glanced over at him, surprised that he actually acknowledged her existence. He caught her looking at him and she coughed slightly as a reason to look away. She took a small sip of her gin and tonic, just enough to clear her throat.

"And you wouldn't want your granddaughters to marry just anyone now would you Straub? You want to make sure the Hayden fortunes are protected right?" she asked.

There it was, that was the crux of it right there. Shira thought Rory was a golddigger, only with Logan for his money. That's rich, she thought, considering what she knew about Shira's own illustrious past. She didn't spend much time in society, and tuned out Emily's ramblings most of the time, but even she knew that it was a well known fact that Mitchum married well below his abilities.

"Well of course," Straub replied coolly. Rory saw a look cross his face that she recognized from her own father. The look he got when he was about to make sharply cutting statement. "We wouldn't want our granddaughter to marry just anyone. We'd need to make sure he had the right reputation, not one of those spoiled trust fund brats that runs around like he owns the world."

She had the urge to speak up and defend Logan, but she also knew that his reputation was no secret in society. Paris practically made her repeat every bad thing she'd ever heard about him back to her before she was allowed out of her apartment for their first date, just to make sure she wasn't being naïve. She watched as Logan grimaced and squeezed his hand tighter.

"I know exactly what you mean Straub!" Shira told him. Rory dug the nails of her free hand into her palm, the lip biting wasn't going to cut it any longer. How blind could Shira be to be completely unaware of Logan's reputation?

"Wow Mom must be blind," Honor leaned over her to whisper to Logan. At least the whole family wasn't blind Rory thought.

"It's too bad your granddaughters are so young. It would be nice to have a merger between the Huntzbergers and the Haydens," Shira said. Rory was beginning to wonder if Shira would ever shut up and she almost choked on her drink.

"Are you alright dear?" Francine asked in a concerned tone.

"I'm fine, thank you," Rory replied politely.

"Actually," Straub started, Rory noticed that his face getting slightly red. He looked over and caught her eye, silently asking if he could out her. She did her best to equally as silently tell him, not yet. "One of our granddaughters is about Logan's age."

"Oh we must introduce them!" Shira exclaimed.

The table was silent for a moment after his statement. Rory looked around, and she could tell, they knew. Mitchum lowered his head to his hands and Elias stared down at his plate.

Shira apparently, did not know. "Now a Hayden would be an appropriate wife for a Huntzberger! You understand don't you Rory? Even though you didn't grow up in society I'm sure Emily has made sure that you at least know some of the basics of how it works. I'm sure you're a perfectly nice girl, and some guy will be lucky to have you, you should just look a little lower on the society totem pole," Shira blathered on.

Wow, she thought, Shira Huntzberger really was a piece of work, all of Emily's complaints hadn't done her justice, she was worse than Rory could have ever imagined.

Rory heard Logan sigh beside her, she could tell he was getting really tired of this. She had to admit, she was too. She was just about ready to put an end to this whole charade by herself if she had to.

"I'm not interested in you picking a wife for me, no matter how lovely she may be. No offense Judge Hayden, Mrs. Hayden," Logan said politely.

Her Grandfather pushed his chair back and stood up. "I've had enough of this. I'm sorry Mitchum but we'll have to do this another time. Francine, get your coat. Rory get your coat as well."

She knew she needed to speak, but she paused for a minute trying to figure out what to say. She had no clue how to address him. "But Grandfather," Rory started quietly hoping she made the right choice, "I came with Logan and I need to go back to Yale."

She looked over at Logan to find him looking at her with a huge smile on his face.

She heard Shira gasp. The rest of the table was completely silent.

"Your father is at our house, I'll have him take you home, or if you'd rather we can drop you back at Yale," Straub told her.

"Okay," she agreed. Her grandfather, who hated her, stood up for her, she owed it to him not to make him look bad by putting up a fight. "Call me later Logan?" she asked. She hoped she didn't piss him off too badly. Judging by the smile on his face he was more amused than anything else. He did warn her about his parents in advance.

"Of course Ace." He stood up at the same time she did, and leaned in to kiss her cheek. "It was lovely to meet you Judge Hayden, Mrs. Hayden," he said politely. She wondered if he was freaked out about meeting her grandparents without any advanced warning. Oh well, she didn't get any warning either, so they'd just have to deal with it later if it was a problem.

"Thank you?" Rory said hesitantly to the table knowing that society dictate that she thank the hostess, but not really sure exactly what to do in this situation. _Sorry _she mouthed at Logan.

* * *

"Thank you," she whispered to her grandparents as she followed them back through the house towards the front door.

The trio was completely silent after that with the exception of a curt conversation with the maid asking her to quickly get their coats.

She watched Straub help Francine into the passenger seat of their late model Mercedes sedan, and climbed into the back seat herself.

"I'm sorry," she said once both of them were in the car.

"What on earth do you have to be sorry for?" her grandmother asked her kindly.

"I didn't know you were going to be there. I'm sorry if I embarrassed you," she said quietly.

"There was no way you would have known we were going to be there, Mitchum and I just made the arrangements today," Straub told her gruffly. "Besides, you behaved with grace and decorum while that woman insulted you. You did absolutely nothing that could be considered an embarrassment. Shira on the other hand, well that is just inexcusable."

Rory smiled in the backseat. It almost sounded as if her grandfather was proud of her.

"Thank you for defending me," she said again, just in case they hadn't heard her the first time.

"That's what grandparents are for dear," Francine told her. "Besides, nobody insults a Hayden and gets a way with it, regardless of whether they know she's a Hayden or not."

All of the sudden Rory could see why Emily and Francine were such great friends, they were two peas in a pod.

"Now Rory," Straub started, "I know we got off to a rocky start all those years ago. But you and your father get along just fine, he's always mentioning how proud he is of you. Are you ashamed of being a Hayden?"

"No Sir," she said.

"Then why in heavens name did Shira not know it?" he asked.

"Well," she paused for a moment to collect her thoughts. How could she explain that names just weren't important to her. She didn't wear her surname, either one of them, as a badge of honor. She decided she'd avoid the discussion all together. "Logan and I just started dating last week. We're just starting to get to know each other. It just never came up."

"You do know that Logan has quite a reputation, don't you?" her grandmother asked protectively.

"I'm aware," she said as politely as she could.

"Just checking. A girl can't be too careful these days."

She smiled at the thought of Francine wanting to protect her from Logan and his big bad reputation. It was quite sweet really.

"So, where would you like us to take Rory?" Straub asked.

"You might as well take me back to your house, it would be nice to see Dad for a bit," she answered.

"Very well," he said, and she could hear a smile in his voice. "And Rory?"

"Yes?"

"This won't be forgotten."

She shuddered at the thought of the Haydens getting back at the Huntzbergers for such a grievous offense, and then smiled, knowing that the grandparents she thought hated her, really didn't.

* * *

**AN: Okay – there you have it. Rory's thoughts on the dinner, plus a little time with Straub and Francine. **

**Have you had enough or do you need more? **

**I look forward to your feedback and reviews!**

**Thanks for reading - S**


	3. Chapter 3 The Huntzbergers

**AN: As usual, I don't own it. **

**In my insomnia last night I figured out a plan for this story, so there will probably a total of six chapters, assuming I don't get too wordy. **

**This chapter is from the Huntzbergers Point of View **

* * *

It had been three days since that awful dinner and Shira was still on pins and needles waiting for the other shoe to drop.

* * *

The morning after the dinner, she woke up terrified. She spent the entire morning jumping at every sound expecting Emily Gilmore or Francine Hayden to either call her and rip her a new one, or show up at the house and do the same. She cancelled all of her appointments claiming the flu so she wouldn't be caught out in public unaware. All morning she expected it, but it never came.

She spent that afternoon trying to figure out where things stood. She knew Logan was furious with her, and wouldn't speak to her at all, but that wasn't really anything new, ever since his teenage years everything she tried to do was wrong in his eyes, and he spent more time not speaking to her than he did speaking to her. She knew Honor was more upset that her engagement announcement was overshadowed, but she'd get over it quickly. Elias had no room to be upset, he started the whole thing, but he still avoided her, most likely waiting to find out the ramifications of her actions. She had no clue how Mitchum felt, he was a mystery to her. He had been furious last night, but before they went to bed, he had apologized. She figured he was just waiting it out, and when the other shoe dropped, then he'd have an opinion on the matter.

She thought back over the matter and tried to figure out how she'd come to the conclusion she did about Rory Gilmore. She made mental list of all of the things she knew about Rory before dinner started.  
She was Emily and Richard's only granddaughter.  
Her mother was Lorelai, Emily and Richard's only daughter.  
Lorelai was several years younger than Shira was.  
Lorelai had never been married.  
Right after Rory was born Lorelai dropped out of Hartford Society.  
Lorelai didn't speak to Richard and Emily for years.

To her, all of those things pointed to Lorelai hating society and having an affair with a member of the household staff to piss her parents off. That's what Shira would have done in that position.

But if that wasn't the case, then why did Straub and Francine act like Rory was a complete stranger when they arrived?

Since it was mid afternoon and she still hadn't heard anything from Emily or Francine, she began to feel like maybe there wouldn't ever be a call. She decided to do a little discreet digging and see if she could find out the rest of the story. Rory was dating her son after all, she had a right to know what kind of girl he was dating.

Half a dozen well placed calls later, and she thought she'd pieced together the rest of the story. The Haydens wanted the kids to marry, and Lorelai refused. They blamed her, and thus Rory, for ruining Christopher's life. While Richard and Emily eventually made up with Lorelai, the Haydens never did. The Haydens and the Gilmores no longer socialized with each other.

Looking at the situation objectively, Shira actually thought that Lorelai Gilmore was incredibly brave. She gave up comfort and security to find happiness, not many society people would do that. And with a guy like Christopher Hayden ready to marry her, she would never have had to work a day in her life. While Shira wouldn't trade lives with the woman, she admired her for not getting married just because she was pregnant. But then again, maybe if Lorelai grew up the way Shira did, she would have done it differently. She didn't like to admit it, but she knew that most of the Hartford Elite thought she used her pregnancy with Honor to trap Mitchum into marrying her. While it was true that she was pregnant when they got married, she and Mitchum really did love each other.

* * *

The second morning after the dinner, Shira woke up a little more relaxed. She still jumped at the sound of the phone, half expecting it to be Francine, and half worried that it would be a member of the DAR calling to ask for the inside scoop. Again, no calls came. Honor finally called her, and she was no longer mad, she was to eager to start wedding planning. With the exception of asking her mother if she got the taste of foot out of her mouth, she let the whole incident drop.

Now she was annoyed that she'd cancelled her appointments with the flu, and wished she'd used something easier to get over like food poisoning or an allergy attack so she could at least go out and it wouldn't cause suspicions if she were seen.

* * *

The third morning after the dinner, Shira began to grow more anxious again. She still hadn't heard a word from Emily or Francine, or any of the girls in the DAR, but she noticed that Mitchum had grown increasingly stressed out as well. He was like her barometer for normalcy. If he felt that something wasn't right, then it probably wasn't. And he had yet to reassure her and tell her that everything would be okay, or that she needn't worry anymore.

She smoked her fourth cigarette of the day and tried to figure out what, if anything, was coming. Maybe since Straub and Francine never acknowledged Rory, and Francine and Emily never spoke the whole incident would be forgotten. No one outside of those present at the table would ever need to know about it. She smiled and scrubbed out her cigarette, momentarily feeling like everything could go back to normal. Then she reexamined the situation. She realized that she was being incredibly naïve. She instantly lit a new cigarette and remembered that the Haydens were far too proud to let such an insult drop all together.

Would this insecure feeling ever go away?

* * *

By the third day after that dreaded dinner arrived Mitchum Huntzberger was seriously pissed off, if there were going to be repercussions, he wanted to know what they were.

* * *

The first morning he went to his office expecting some sort of repercussion. A curt email from Straub or potentially Richard. Mitchum could understand that feathers had been ruffled, but he also could easily separate business from personal. He found lots of his employees fell into this mistake. They didn't learn early enough that you could respect a person professionally and not like them personally, or in turn, that you may like a person on a personal level but never ever want to do business with them. When he hadn't heard from Straub by noon he decided that the judge may need some time to cool down. The deal could wait a day or two, no big deal.

He sat at his desk reflecting on the situation in a tumble of emotions. Part of him was angry at Logan for putting them in the situation. Unlike Shira, Mitchum wasn't blind to his son's reputation, he knew that for the last five years Logan had basically screwed anything in a skirt. Mitchum was fine with that, Logan had to get it out of his system so he could eventually settle down with a proper society wife, preferably one of Shira's choosing, and take over HPG. He was angry that Logan screwed up the plan. But part of him swelled with pride at the sight of his son thundering away at his mother and grandfather, protecting this girl from his family. He remembered the first time he took Shira home to meet his parents, and having an extremely similar conversation with Elias and Anne, his mother.

He was also irritated at his father. He knew the old man was losing it, but he didn't realize he was that far gone. He couldn't believe his father had the audacity to tell Logan that Rory was the kind of girl that you sleep with, not the kind you marry, in front on Rory. That was completely inappropriate, in any society.

Lastly he thought of his wife. He didn't know how to feel towards her at the moment. He knew how badly she wanted to be the one to pick Logan's future wife, but really to insult the girl to her face! He wanted to blame the alcohol, but again, she was the one who chose to consume so much of it. She was mortified and apologetic, of course, but he decided to delay his feelings until the repercussions appeared. What was the point of being mad about something that yet to cause problems?

* * *

The second day after the dinner Mitchum had almost forgotten what had happened. He was busy at work as usual, and didn't have the extra time to worry about what was potentially coming at him. He would have forgotten completely had he not tried to call Logan about something else, but having his son put him straight to voicemail all day long was enough to trigger his memory.

"Logan," he finally started a voicemail after his sixth call. "I know you're upset, but that doesn't mean you can neglect your duties to this family. You need to call me back as soon as possible." He slammed down the phone and bellowed for his assistant. "Bethany, I can I get a cup of coffee in here. And have I had any calls from Straub Hayden?"

A few moments later she showed up in his office with a fresh cup of coffee. "I'm sorry sir, no calls from Mr. Hayden."

"It's Judge Hayden," he automatically corrected.

"Of course sir, no calls from Judge Hayden either." She left his office before he could say anything else.

What the hell was Straub playing at? They had business together, he couldn't just ignore it!

* * *

The third morning had Mitchum dying to get out of the house. Shira was jumping at every little noise, and Elias seemed to have forgotten about the whole debacle and was now riding Mitchum's case as to why he hadn't called Straub about the deal.

"Mitchum, you can't let some thing so petty get in the way of this deal. Call Hayden and hammer out the details," Elias told him over breakfast.

"Dad, you insulted his granddaughter! To his face! You know if someone ever insulted Logan or Honor in front of you you'd never let them hear the end of it. I'm giving the Judge a day or two to calm down."

"If you haven't had any trouble yet, I'm sure everything is fine. Maybe he forgot!"

"You want to talk to him so badly, you call him," Mitchum snapped. "Wait, you'll just make it worse, don't do anything."

He abandoned his half finished coffee and headed to the office.

By the end of the day though, he found himself in his father's line of thinking. He asked Bethany to track down the judge's home phone number and decided to take matters into his own hands.

He waited impatiently as the phone rang. "Hayden residence," the maid answered.

"Yes, may I speak to Straub please," Mitchum asked politely.

"I'm sorry, Judge Hayden isn't home yet, can I take a message and have him return your call?" she asked.

"Yes, please have him call Mitchum Huntzberger. He has my number."

"Very well sir."

He hung up the phone and began to wait again.

* * *

**AN: The next chapter with be Straub and Francine – I just wanted to show Shira and Mitchum twisting in the wind for a bit. **

**I hope you like it and I look forward to hearing your opinions on it either way.**

**Thanks for reading – S**


	4. Chapter 4 The Haydens

**AN: I still don't own Gilmore Girls**

**Here's chapter four, it's Straub and Francine. This takes place before chapter three chronologically, but like I said before, I wanted to show Shira twisting in the wind for a bit. **

* * *

The morning after that dreadful dinner Francine Hayden woke up knowing exactly what she needed to do. As soon as it was socially acceptable (after 9 am) she went into her parlor and dialed a number she hadn't called in years. She waited nervously as the phone rang on the other end.

"Gilmore residence," the maid answered.

"Yes, Emily please," Francine told her.

"I'm sorry?" the maid said with a confused voice. Francine smiled, same old Emily, couldn't keep a maid to save her life.

"Mrs. Gilmore please," she amended.

"Right away Ma'am. May I tell her who's calling?"

"Yes, please tell her it's Francine Hayden."

"Hold on a moment please."

Francine waited patiently hoping Emily would take the call. Finally, a full minute later she heard the sound of an extension being picked up.

"This is Emily," she said curtly.

"It's Francine."

"What can I do for you Francine?" she asked in a sarcastic voice that Francine knew well.

"Something's happened Emily, and I need to discuss it with you," Francine told her quickly.

"I really don't think we have anything to discuss," Emily snapped back.

"It's about Rory, please?" Francine pleaded.

"Rory?" This softened Emily's hard exterior quickly. "Well, go on then, tell me."

"I'd rather discuss it in person, can you meet me in today?" she asked hopefully.

"I'd have to cancel my tennis lesson."

"It's urgent," Francine informed her.

Emily sighed on the other end of the phone and Francine felt a surge of hope. "Alright. How about that tea house on Main Street?" Emily asked.

"What time?" Francine asked quickly.

"11:30," Emily suggested.

"That's perfect I'll see you then." Before she could even get a confirmation from Emily she heard the sound of a dial tone.

* * *

Two hours later Francine found herself anxiously pacing in the entryway of the tea house, hoping that Emily would show up. She hadn't been to this place in years, but found that it hadn't changed at all. She glanced up as she heard a car pull into the parking lot, a compact, definitely not Emily, so she resumed pacing. She wouldn't put it past Emily to call right at 11:30 and cancel on her. Emily Gilmore would never all out stand someone up, but she could show her displeasure by canceling at the last moment or being purposefully late. Francine really hoped she didn't have to put up with any of that today. This was far too important.

The door opened behind her and she saw Emily step into the building.

"Oh good, you made it," Francine said.

"Of course I made it Francine, I picked the place and the time," Emily told her sharply as they approached the hostess.

"A table for two?" the woman asked.

"Yes please," Francine replied. The hostess grabbed a pair of menus and led the ladies to a table in the center of the room.

"Is this all right?" she asked.

"Actually, do you think we could have something a little _quieter_," Francine asked, hinting at her need for privacy.

"Yes Ma'am, right this way." The second table was in a private corner, which was much better suited for the news Francine had to share. The two women were seated, and left to peruse their menus. They sat in silence for a few minutes before Francine decided to speak.

"So how have you been Emily?" She didn't want to be interrupted once she started her tale, so she decided to wait until they had ordered to tell Emily what was going on.

"I've been well Francine, how about yourself?"

"I'm well also, how's Richard?" she asked prolonging the conversation.

"Richard is fine," Emily said annoyed.

Before either woman could speak again the waitress showed up. "Are you ready to order?"

"Yes, Earl Grey tea and a plate of scones," Emily told her.

"I'll have the same," Francine said quietly.

Once the waitress walked away Emily looked up at Francine. "All right Francine, what's so important that I had to cancel my tennis lesson on two hours notice? I'm probably going to be billed for that lesson you know," Emily ranted.

"If it's a big deal Emily just send me the bill, I'll be happy to pay it," Francine shot back.

"Well of course not!" Emily said in a shocked voice. "I just want to know what's going on."

"Straub and I had dinner with the Huntzbergers last night," Francine started.

"Well congratulations," Emily said sarcastically. "What does this have to do with Rory?"

"She was at the dinner."

"What? Why?" Emily asked immediately curious.

"Apparently she's dating the Huntzberger's son," Francine said. She watched a look of hurt cross Emily's face, likely because she hadn't been aware of the match and was annoyed that Francine knew first. "They just started dating," Francine added to soothe her.

"Well I agree that that information is important, but I don't see why you wanted to meet with me in person to share it, or why it had to be in a corner table. Honestly, I feel like we're spies trading in international secrets," Emily said tartly.

"It's not that she was at the dinner Emily, it's what happened at the dinner," Francine replied equally tartly, then she began to relive the events of the night before for Emily.

After the whole story was out, Francine sipped her tea as Emily sputtered in shock. "Who does that woman think she is? Where does she get off thinking she can insulting Rory? Considering her own past and the fact that her precious son has practically slept with the entire eastern seaboard, I don't think she's in a place to say anything all!"

"It really was atrocious," Francine said.

"Poor Rory!" Emily moaned.

"I know. But Emily you would have been so proud of the girl, she kept her composure the entire time. Of course it probably helped that she had Logan there yelling on her behalf."

"He was?" Emily asked.

"I know he has a terrible reputation as a playboy, but he seems to really care for her."

"She kept her cool?" Emily backtracked a moment.

"I do wonder where she got the ability to do that," Francine said. She knew all three of the elder Gilmores had quick tempers as well as Straub, and she herself was prone to crying.

"She got the best traits of all of us. I think she got that one from Christopher," Emily told her.

"Really?"

"You don't see it, because he's your son, but Christopher always managed to keep his anger in check in public."

Francine smiled at the compliment to her son. "She really is an amazing girl, Emily."

"Yes she is," Emily said proudly. "So what are we going to do to help our granddaughter?" Tears filled Francine's eyes. "What's wrong Francine?"

She sniffed a little before she spoke, "That's the first time you've ever referred to her as _our_ granddaughter."

"Oh, well." Emily shrugged.

"I'm so sorry Emily. All those horrible things that were said. I'm so sorry I've missed that amazing girl growing up. I miss our friendship so much," Francine confessed in a rush.

Emily reached out and patted her hand. "Well, for what it's worth, I've missed you too. And it's not entirely too late, you can still get to know her."

"Thank you," Francine said with a watery smile.

Emily nodded dismissively. "So, we know that no one insults our granddaughter and gets away with it, so what are we going to do?"

"Well," Francine started secretively, "I have an idea."

The two women bent their heads together and began to plot the demise of Shira Huntzberger.

* * *

Straub Hayden started his morning in a manner similar to that of his wife's. He reached his office a little before 9, then spent a few moments going over his docket before calling out to his law clerk, "Jeffrey, would you get me the phone number for Richard Gilmore's Office?"

"Right away Your Honor. Would you like me to get him on the phone for you as well?" Jeffrey asked.

"I can make the call myself," the judge said gruffly.

A few minutes later Jeffrey returned with the phone number. "Can I get you anything else?"

"A cup of coffee and some privacy!" the judge scowled. Jeffrey quickly backed out of the office shutting the door firmly behind him.

Straub picked up the phone and roughly punched in the numbers for Richard's office, briefly recalling their last meeting and hoping that the man would at least hear him out.

"Good morning, Richard Gilmore's office," a familiar yet chipper voice answered the phone.

"May I speak to Richard please?" he asked.

"One moment sir, may I let him know who's calling?" she asked.

"Straub Hayden."

"Of course, please hold a moment." When she put him on hold he remembered where he'd heard the voice before, Margie, she'd been Richard's assistant for ages. He chuckled at the thought of Richard's steadfast loyalty with his help, and Emily's rotating door policy with hers.

"This is Richard," he finally answered. Straub could tell he deliberated before taking the call.

"Hello Richard, it's been a long time," Straub started.

"Straub," he said shortly. "Why are you calling?'

"Something's come up on a deal and I need your advice," Straub told him honestly.

"I'm sure someone as learned as yourself can make your own business deals," Richard told him curtly.

"Possibly, but this has to do with Rory."

"Rory? My granddaughter Rory?" Richard asked shocked.

"Is there any other?" Straub asked with a laugh.

"Fine. What do you need?"

"I'd rather discuss it in person. Can you meet me at the club today at 2:00?" He heard pages flipping on Richard's end of the phone while he waited for an answer.

"It's important?" Richard asked double checking.

"Very."

"I'll see you there at 2:00 then," he said with a sigh.

"Thank you Richard," Straub said before hanging up the phone. "Jeffrey," he called loudly.

"Yes Your Honor?" the clerk asked.

"I have to leave early today due to a family matter," he told him. "I'll only be here until 1:00, is there anything critical that I get done before I leave?" He felt bad by yelling at the man earlier, and was trying assuage his guilt by reminding him of his importance.

"If you could get through the stack of Petitions for Certiorari on your desk that'd be great," he said with a smile.

"Very well. Thank you Jeffrey." When the door closed the judge smiled and set to work reviewing petitions.

* * *

At 2:00 sharp Straub entered the Hartford Country Club to find Richard pacing in the lobby.

"Sorry, I'm late," Straub said knowing full well that he was not in fact late. Richard waved a dismissive hand at him letting him know he wasn't bothered.

"Shall we head to the dining room and discuss what ever this is over a bite of lunch?" Richard asked.

"I was hoping for somewhere more private," Straub told him. "Maybe the cigar lounge?"

"That should pretty much be deserted at this time of day, I suppose that would be fine," Richard agreed, and the two gentlemen set off to the third floor.

When they arrived in the lounge they found that Richard was correct, the lounge was empty except for the slight smoky fog that never completely dissipated.

"So how are you Richard? How's business?" Straub asked when they sat down.

"I'm well, and business is booming. How are you? And Francine?" he asked in return. No matter how little they liked each other at the moment the niceties of society could not be completely forgone.

"We're both well, thank you."

"Great. Now, what's so urgent?" Richard asked impatiently.

"We had dinner with the Huntzbergers last night," Straub started.

"That's nice. What does that have to do with Rory?" Richard asked.

"Rory was there. Apparently she's dating their son," Straub told him.

"And why is this urgent?" Richard asked.

And with that Straub began to tell Richard of the events that occurred the night before. When he finally came to the end he looked over to see Richard with a thunderstruck look on his face.

"How dare they!" he yelled loudly. "They have no right! My granddaughter is an angel!"

"I could hardly believe it myself," Straub told him.

"Well I'm glad you were there to defend her Straub."

"I think she would have been fine without me, but thank you. Logan was doing a pretty good job at yelling at his family on her behalf."

"Rory, didn't-" Richard started with concern.

"Rory did an amazing job keeping her composure. She's definitely a Gilmore, I could see Lorelai's fire in her eyes, but she managed to hold her tongue and even managed a 'thank you' as we left," Straub said rather proudly.

"Good for her! I can't believe she thanked that odious woman, Emily will never believe it," Richard said with a laugh.

"She's a remarkable girl Richard, Lorelai did a wonderful job with her. You and Emily should be very proud," Straub said quietly, feeling the remorse of not knowing his eldest granddaughter.

"Thank you Straub, we are."

"Look Richard," Straub started.

"It's water under the bridge Straub, let's just let it go," Richard said.

"No, I have to get this one thing off my chest. I'm sorry. For years I blamed Lorelai, and subconsciously, Rory, for Christopher's failures in life. I thought they held him back somehow. But now, as he's finally found a career he loves, I realize that Francine and I were the ones holding him back by trying to force him into the family footsteps. I owe you an apology Richard."

"Apology accepted. Now what are we going to do about these Huntzbergers? No one insults a Gilmore-"

"Or a Hayden," Straub added.

"and gets away with it," Richard finished. "Tell me about this business deal you have going with Mitchum again?" Straub relayed the details of the deal to Richard and his face lit up in a smile, "We'll crush him like a bug!"

"Now Richard, we must give Mitchum a little leeway. He arrived at the same time that Francine and I did. He had no clue who Rory was when we arrived. The insults were all Shira and Elias. He couldn't very well tell Shira to shut up in front of company after all. It wouldn't be fair to completely crush him," Straub told him.

"I knew there was a reason you were a judge Straub, always about the fairness. How about we just dent him a little then?" Richard asked.

"What do you have in mind?" Straub asked. "And what about Shira?"

"I'm sure Emily and Francine will take care of Shira if they haven't already," Richard reassured him, then leaned forward to unfold his plan for denting Mitchum Huntzberger.

* * *

**AN: Had to get a little Gilmore in there too! I couldn't leave Richard and Emily completely out of the fun!**

**Someone mentioned that they wanted more Rory and Logan – Don't worry they'll be back in the next chapter. **

**Thanks for reading! S**


	5. Chapter 5 The Huntzbergers Again

**AN: I still don't own Gilmore Girls. **

**I also want to say a huge thanks to all of you readers and reviewers! I am amazed at the number of reviews/favorites/alerts that I've gotten on this story. Thank you so much! **

**Here's chapter five, in which we return to the Huntzbergers. **

**We will also see how Rory and Logan are faring. **

* * *

Four days after the dinner, Shira decided that she'd been cooped up in the house long enough, so she booked herself a massage, and went to spend the morning having the stress forcibly removed from her body, followed by some retail therapy.

She returned home several hours later feeling much lighter. "Hello?" she called when she entered her house. "Maria, where are you?"

"Coming Mrs. Huntzberger," the maid called.

"Would you take these bags upstairs for me?" she asked as she thrust her packages at the woman.

"Yes ma'am."

"And do I have any messages?" she added as an afterthought.

"Yes ma'am, several," Maria said pulling a pile of message slips from her pocket. Then she took the bags up the stairs to the master bedroom.

Shira headed into the parlor to read her messages and return the calls. She looked at the first message. _Marcy Anderson has to cancel tomorrow morning's tennis match, she'll call to reschedule. _Shira was slightly relieved by this message, she only played tennis because Mitchum thought she needed a hobby.

She flipped to the second message. _Bitsy Phelps needs to postpone lunch next week she has to fly out of town to see her daughter. _Uh-oh. She quickly flipped through the rest of the messages. Every single one of them was a cancellation or postponement. Her face flushed red and tears of frustration streamed down her cheeks; she collapsed into the chair closest to her and exhaled sharply. The phone rang loudly startling her. She went to answer the phone but her hands were shaking too badly, so instead she chose to wait for Maria to get it.

A few moments later Maria called out to her, "Mrs. Huntzberger, Sally Mathews is on the phone for you."

"Thank you Maria, I'll take it in the parlor." She took a few deep breaths trying to calm her nerves and picked up the phone. "Sally, darling how are you?"

"Shira, hi. I'm doing okay, but unfortunately Charles has a last minute business trip and now I have to cancel our dinner plans next week," Sally told her.

"Oh, okay. Shall we reschedule?" Shira asked her calmly.

"Uh," Sally paused, "of course! But I'm not sure how long the trip is going to be, so let me call you when he's back in town."

"That sounds perfect," Shira lied.

"Sorry for the inconvenience Shira. I'll talk to you soon."

"It's no problem, I'll talk to you soon." Shira hung up the phone and swore aloud. She grabbed her cigarettes and walked into terrace.

The other shoe had finally dropped.

* * *

Mitchum spent the fourth morning after the dinner in his office working on an acquisition proposal for a new paper, and waiting for Straub to call him back.

Around 3:00 his intercom buzzed. "I told you I was not to be disturbed," he said into the phone.

"I'm sorry Sir, but you told me to interrupt you if Judge Hayden called," Bethany told him.

"I'm sorry Bethany, I forgot. Please put him through," Mitchum told her apologetically.

The phone at his desk rang once and he picked up, "This is Mitchum."

"Mitchum it's Straub Hayden," Straub told him.

"Hello Straub, how are you today?" he asked.

"I'm doing well, and yourself?" The polite society conversation was really annoying sometimes.

"Also fine. So to what do I owe the pleasure of this call?" he asked.

"I'm returning your call from yesterday, I'm assuming you were calling about the Miller deal."

"Oh yes, of course," Mitchum said. "Are you ready to proceed?"

"Yes. However, I do have one small bit of bad news," Straub proceeded. Mitchum felt his heart sink. "Unfortunately I can no longer contribute the amount we had initially discussed."

"How much can you contribute?" Mitchum asked nervously.

"I can only contribute half."

"HALF?!?!" Mitchum said loudly.

"I'm terribly sorry," Straub said.

"May I ask what changed?" he asked.

"I'm sorry, but I believe that information is irrelevant," Straub told him.

"Where am I supposed to get the additional funds on such short notice?" Mitchum asked sharply.

"Again Mitchum, I am sorry. Maybe try Richard Gilmore, I know he's always up for a good investment. I'm due in court in a few minutes so I really must go. Let me know when you need the money and I'll have a check couriered over."

Before Mitchum could even say goodbye the Judge hung up the phone. Mitchum slammed down his receiver and swore.

Where was he going to get that kind of money on short notice? He and Straub were supposed to be equal partners, and how he needed to find someone to come up with the difference. He could always pony up the dough himself, but his financial advisors would kill him. He stood up and stormed out of his office.

"Bethany, I'm leaving for the day. Cancel the rest of my appointments."

"Sir?" she said hesitantly. He never left early, he knew she was curious, but instead of saying anything further he shot her a dark look and strode to the elevator.

* * *

Mitchum stormed into his front door slamming it behind him. "Shira!" he bellowed.

"I believe she's on the terrace Mr. Huntzberger," Maria told him.

"Is she smoking?" he asked. The maid merely nodded.

"Shira, I'm home," he called when he opened the door to the terrace.

"You're home early," she said with a sniffle. He looked at her to find that she had a cigarette in one hand and a cocktail in the other. Her eyes were bloodshot and her nose was red and puffy. She'd been crying. "Why are you home early?" she asked.

"Straub finally called," he said in a defeated voice.

"And?" she asked waiting for him to continue. "Did he back out of your deal?"

"No." He sighed. "But he withdrew half of his funding."

"What does that mean?" Shira asked.

"It means that I have to find more investors," he told her.

"Well it shouldn't be that hard to find a person willing to invest," she encouraged. "It's only half of what Straub originally agreed to. I'm sure there are lots of people that can do that."

Mitchum looked at her like she'd lost her mind. "Shira, you don't even know how much money it is. Not a lot of people have that much money to invest on short notice. This is going to delay the deal, and I'll probably have to get more than one person to pick up the slack. That means more partners, which means more problems. I wish you could have just kept your damn mouth shut at that dinner the other night."

"How do you know it was the dinner that made him back out? Maybe he and Francine are having problems."

"Shira, he suggested that I call Richard Gilmore for the other half of the funds. Of course it had to do with that dinner!" he shouted. She burst into tears.

"At least yours is only one deal Mitchum!" she shouted back at him.

"How was your day dear?" Mitchum shot back at her sarcastically.

She began to tell him about her day full of cancellations and postponements.

"Maybe it's a coincidence," he said.

"I got a call from Susan Smith on the hospital fundraising committee, and she told me that she knew I was busy and therefore I didn't need to worry about the committee this year. She kicked me off a charity committee! They always need help!" Shira shrieked.

"Calm down Shira. I'm sure this will all blow over."

"You need to make this stop Mitchum. I can't believe this is happening because of that stupid girl!"

"I'm not sure what I can do, but I can tell you that calling her "that stupid girl" isn't going to help at all," he told her sharply.

"Mitchum!" she whined.

"Fine," he acquiesced, picking up his cell phone.

* * *

Logan and Rory were curled up watching a movie when his phone began to ring. He looked down at the number. His father. He sighed deeply. "I'm sorry Ace, I've got to take this call. I've been ignoring him for the past few days, and if I don't take a call soon he's going to show up."

"That's fine," she told him as she paused the movie.

"Huntzberger," he answered his phone.

"Logan, it's your father."

"Hey Dad," he said exasperatedly. "What can I do for you today?"

"Would you please tell your girlfriend that vengeance isn't an attractive quality?" Mitchum said sharply.

"_Rory_," he emphasized her name, "is the least vindictive person I know."

"Sure."

"What's going on Dad?" Logan asked getting annoyed. Mitchum went on to tell him about all of the things that had happened to them during the day. "Well I'm sorry about that Dad, but I'm positive that Rory had nothing to do with it."

"Fine, then could you at least ask her to make it stop?" Mitchum asked.

"Sure Dad. Anything for you and Mom," he said with a smirk.

"I'm serious Logan, your mother is about to have a break down!"

"I'll see what I can do" Logan told him, and then hung up the phone.

"What was that about?" Rory asked curiously, snuggling back into Logan's side.

"My dad called to cry uncle!" he told her with a laugh.

"What does that mean?"

"Apparently my mom has been voted out of society, and one of my dad's business deal, the one with your grandfather, has gone slightly sideways. My dad thinks that you're behind it, and told me to tell you that vengeance is not an attractive quality. "

"He thinks I'm behind this?" Rory asked incredulously.

"Yep. And if you're not behind it, he'd like you to make it stop. I told you Ace, he's off his rocker."

"Do you think my grandparents are behind this?" she asked nervously.

"Absolutely!" he exclaimed.

"And you're not mad?"

"Ace, my parents deserve it. If the situation was reversed I have absolutely no doubt that my parents would do the exact same thing."

"But it's so mean!" she said.

"They're defending you Rory! It would be weird if they didn't," he told her with a laugh.

"I just never expected it, not from the Haydens."

Logan put his arm around her and tugged her close. "You deserve it Ace."

"Oh, speaking of grandparents, Emily called today. She expects us for dinner tomorrow night."

"Rory," Logan whined.

"Since we had dinner with your parents, Emily thinks its only fair that she gets to have dinner with us too," she told him relaying her grandmother's call.

"Alright," he agreed. "Hey, speaking of your grandparents, I believe you owe me a story missy!"

She chuckled at the thought. "What are you doing tomorrow?"

"Aside from dinner at your grandparents?" he asked. She nodded. "I have one class in the morning, then nothing else, why?"

"Just a sec," she told him as she pulled out her cell phone and dialed a number.

"Loin fruit!" Lorelai answered on the second ring.

"Mommy!!" she said back.

"What's going on?" Logan knew Rory had told him about the drama from the dinner the other night, and he was sure Lorelai was still expecting fall out.

"Not much, I was just wondering if you wanted to have lunch with me and Logan tomorrow."

"I guess I can do that for my only daughter," Lorelai told her.

"Great! We'll come to the inn for lunch tomorrow."

"See you then Kid," Lorelai told her.

"Ace, what's going on? You want me to have lunch with your mom, then dinner with your grandparents in the same day? That might be a little much."

"You want to hear the story about the rhinestone penis shirt right?" she asked.

"Why can't you tell me the story?"

"Trust me, she tells it way better than I do."

"Okay," Logan said, deciding to trust her judgment on the matter.

"Don't worry, my mom is cool," she said, leaning in to kiss him on the cheek. "Now lets get back to the movie.

* * *

**AN: Are you guys ready for the last chapter? I don't intend to go as far as dinner with Richard and Emily, just lunch with Lorelai at the inn – in which I'm sure she will tell us how she feels about the whole situation. **

**A couple of people have asked if Christopher would be making an appearance, and my answer is not really. We may hear a little about Christopher's reaction during lunch with Lorelai, but since Lorelai is currently not speaking to Christopher (the rewedding debacle), he will not be joining us for lunch. **

**Thanks again for reading and reviewing – I look forward to your opinions! - S**


	6. Chapter 6 Logan and the Gilmore Girls

**AN: Here's the last chapter – we're back to Rory and Logan, and Lorelai. **

**I hope you like it, and thank you all for reviews, alerts and favorites! **

* * *

After Logan's morning class, he met Rory in her dorm. "Hey Ace, are you ready to go?"

"Sure, let me get my jacket," she told him. She grabbed her jacket and purse and headed towards the door. "Do you want me to drive? Or do you want to?" she asked as they headed out to the cars.

"Well if I drive I can have a quick getaway if need be," he said pulling his keys from his pocket.

"Trust me, with my mother, you won't need it. And with my grandparents… Well I'll probably be the one to need it before you do."

He smiled at her and opened the passenger door to his car for her to climb in. "If you need out, say the word and we're gone."

"Thank you," she told him as she buckled herself into the car.

They were silent in the car as Logan made his way to the freeway in the direction of Stars Hollow. Rory watched him, and she could tell that there was something on his mind.

"So," he started slowly after he'd merged with the oncoming traffic, "is there anything I should know about your mom before I meet her?"

"Well not really. The inn we're meeting her at is the one she owns with her best friend, and the best chef in the world, Sookie St. James. She hates society, especially after the stunt my grandmother pulled at her re-wedding…." Rory trailed off trying to think of any other important things he needed to know.

"Will she hate me because I'm society?" he asked nervously.

"Logan, are you nervous?"

"Yes," he told her simply.

"But why? You're great with people."

"Well, I've never actually done the whole 'meet the parents' thing. And if your mom is already predisposed to hate society, what chance am I going to have?" he explained.

"You've never met a girls parent's before?" she asked incredulously.

"Not since I was old enough for it to matter."

"How did you manage that?" she wondered. Society was very… incestuous that way. Every body knew everybody else.

"Aside from not having a person that could be classified as my girlfriend past the age of 12, I guess I would chalk it up to the artful use of the sub-party." Rory laughed and Logan glanced over at her. "The sub-party is a brilliant thing Ace, if I recall it saved you at least once, so don't knock it."

"I was actually laughing about you not having a girlfriend since you were 12. Really?" she asked him.

"Yes well… it was for the best. Trust me." Having met his mother, Rory could easily see where he was coming from. "So, your mom?" Logan asked again bringing Rory back to the important part of his earlier statement.

"She may not love you right away, but she'll give you a chance."

"I guess that's fair," he said.

"Oh, take this exit," she directed, and then proceeded to direct him through a bunch of roads in a small town. "If you're good, I'll take you there when we're done." He looked over to see her pointing at a shop.

"You'll take me to a hardware store?"

"No silly, it's Luke's. Best coffee in the world."

"Well I need to try this coffee, so I guess I'd better be good," he told her with a wink.

"Take a right at the next street, then just follow the road."

Logan did as she instructed, and found himself on a road that was suddenly no longer paved, and he was pulling into a clearing. In the distance he saw a large stately building, and a couple of horses in the field.

"This is it!" Rory told him proudly. She clamored out of the car excitedly then paused to wait for a slower, more reserved, Logan. She grabbed his hand when he reached her and pulled him eagerly towards the front of the inn.

* * *

"Welcome to The Dragonfly Inn," Michel said from behind his desk without bothering to look up. When he did look up, he added, "Oh, it's you."

"Mom?" Rory called as loudly as she dared.

"Fruit of my loins!" came a call back from the other room.

"Mommy!" Rory exclaimed and then launched herself at her mother, giving her a huge hug the moment she saw her.

"Sweetie you're crushing Mommy, are you okay?" Lorelai asked.

"Of course! Come meet Logan," Rory said dragging her mother over to where Logan was still nervously standing. "Mom, this is Logan, Logan, this is my mom."

"Hello Ms. Gilmore," Logan said extending his hand politely.

"It's Lorelai, please," she told him as she shook his hand.

"Okay, Lorelai, it's nice to meet you," he said with a smile.

"Are you two ready for lunch?" Lorelai asked quickly.

Rory nodded eagerly which seemed to be enough for an answer for both of them.

"Right this way then." Lorelai led them into the dinning room, and took a seat at one of the tables that seated four. "Manny?" she called.

"Yes Ms. Gilmore," a man said when he approached.

"Will you bring us some coffee, and let Sookie know that we're going to be having lunch?" she asked.

"Of course. Coffee for two or three?" Manny asked, looking at Logan.

"Three please," Logan told him. For some reason he thought it would look very bad to Lorelai if he declined coffee knowing how much Rory loved it.

"Well at least you've got good taste kid," Lorelai told him.

"Excuse me?" he asked confused.

"Well, you're dating my daughter, and you like coffee," she said by way of explanation.

"Mom!" Rory said in an embarrassed voice. Lorelai merely shot Rory a wink, then turned back to Logan.

"You were right Ror, he is cute!" Lorelai said. Rory blushed, and it was obvious to Logan that that was Lorelai's intent in the first place.

Luckily, before anything else could happen, Manny returned with the coffees. "Are you ready to order?" he asked.

"Tell Sookie it's us," Lorelai started, then glanced at Logan. "Are you a picky eater?"

"No," Logan said hesitantly. In truth, he wasn't picky, but he wasn't quite sure where this was going.

"Can he keep up with us?" Lorelai asked Rory.

Rory looked Logan up and down, like she was examining him. "I'm not sure."

"I can keep up," Logan said, trying to keep his pride intact."

"Looks like we've got ourselves a contender," Lorelai said with a laugh. "Manny, tell Sookie, it's us, for three."

"Of course," Manny said before quickly leaving the room.

"Sookie was so excited when she found out you were coming, she's been cooking up a storm all day," Lorelai told Rory.

"What does that mean? It's us?" Logan asked, the situation making him slightly leery.

"You'll see," Rory told him with a smile.

"So tell Mommy, how is everything?" Lorelai addressed Rory.

"It's okay," Rory told her.

"I want to smack them!" Lorelai exclaimed. "No one says those things about my baby girl!"

Rory laughed lightly. "That's pretty much exactly what Dad said."

Logan watched as Lorelai flinched slightly. "You talked to your dad?" Lorelai asked.

"Didn't I tell you?" Rory started. "He was at…" she struggled to find the right term.

"Your grandparents?" Lorelai supplied.

"Yeah. He was there when they brought me home. He took me back to Yale."

"I bet he was happy to see you," she said coolly.

"He seemed to be. He was so mad! I thought he was going to drive over to the Huntzbergers and punch… someone!" Rory told her.

Lorelai laughed, "Well he probably could have taken them. No offense Logan, but Rory's dad is pretty scrappy."

"None taken, in fact I wouldn't have minded someone giving my dad, or grandfather a black eye that night," Logan told her with a smile. "Although I'm sure my mother deserved the brunt of it."

"Yes well, even Christopher wouldn't stoop to hitting a woman," Lorelai said. Logan made a mental note to ask Rory about what was going on with her parents.

Conversations paused as Manny brought out a tray of food. Several plates with different items on them were set on the table in to particular place. "Here's round one," he said with a smile as he set the last plate down.

Logan watched as Rory and Lorelai each grabbed a plate and began to eat.

"What's wrong Logan?" Rory asked when she noticed he wasn't eating.

"I'm not really sure what to do here," Logan said rather embarrassed.

"Just pick a plate and start eating," Rory told him as if it was the most natural thing in the world. He grabbed a plate of what looked like risotto and dug in.

"This is amazing!" he said.

"Oh, he's got the magic risotto," Lorelai said with a knowing smile.

"Switch!" Rory called a minute or two later, and grabbed Lorelai's plate, while Lorelai grabbed another from the center. "Logan, don't hog the risotto," she added with a smile. He looked up rather surprised, and immediately pushed back the plate; taking the fried chicken that Rory had been eating moments before.

"So has there been any fall out from dinner?" Lorelai asked a few minutes later.

"Well, Logan's mom's been banished from society, at least temporarily, and his dad's business deal with… Grandpa Hayden has gone a little sideways," Rory explained.

"Switch!" Lorelai called. This time Logan knew what to do, and took the plate of homemade macaroni and cheese from in front of Lorelai, returning what was left of the fried chicken to the center of the table.

All of the sudden Logan gasped, and both of the women at the table looked up at him.

"Are you okay?" Rory asked.

"What's going to happen to me?" he asked nervously.

"What do you mean?" Rory asked for clarification.

"My mom got booted from society, my dad had a deal get messed up, not that they didn't deserve it, but what's going to happen to me?"

"Well from what I understand, you stood up for our girl here," Lorelai started and Logan and Rory both nodded. "My guess is, nothing."

"Nothing?" Logan said with surprise.

"Look at what's happened. Shira was the one that said all of those horrible things, she's been blacklisted for a while. Mitchum didn't stop it, and his deal got screwed up, but not killed. You stood up for Rory, so I'm pretty sure nothing will happen to you. If nothing else, the judge is fair. But, I'd be careful if you ever hurt her in the future."

Logan took a deep breath and nodded.

"His dad called last night asking me to make it stop," Rory said with a giggle. "I can't believe the Haydens did this. I thought they hated me."

"Aw Hon, they never hated you. They hated me, and just couldn't see past that," Lorelai told her. The three of them resumed eating quietly lost in their own thoughts for a moment, Manny brought out a second round of dishes, and they all switched plates again.

"I don't think the Haydens acted alone," Lorelai said suddenly.

"What are you talking about Mom?" Rory asked.

"All of the sudden a voicemail I got from your grandmother suddenly makes sense."

"Francine called you?" Rory asked.

"No, Emily."

"What did the voicemail say?" Logan asked curiously.

"Lorelai, it's your mother," she started in her best Emily Gilmore impersonation. "Don't worry, your father and I and Straub and Francine have everything taken care of."

"What did you think that meant?" Rory asked her.

"I don't know. I thought all of the sudden my phone was caught in a time warp from 1984."

Rory laughed and Logan looked at her thoughtfully. "So we're having dinner with the Gilmores tonight," Rory told her mother.

"Haven't you had enough torture this week?" Lorelai asked her sarcastically.

"Nope, not me, a glutton for punishment."

"And you?" Lorelai directed at Logan.

"After making Rory deal with my parents, it's only fair that I have dinner with her family," Logan told her honestly. "But I believe I'm owed a story."

"Oh right! Mom, I promised Logan the rhinestone penis shirt story, and since you tell it so much better than I do…" Rory trailed off.

"I see why you've really come to see me," Lorelai teased playfully. "You just want Mommy to tell you a story!"

"Please," Rory begged.

"Alright! But only because I feel bad for Logan having to deal with my parents tonight," Lorelai said.

"_It had been one of those weeks. My mother had called me dozen times and was making me absolutely crazy," Lorelai started. _

"_It was August and she wanted Mom to have the DAR tea at the Independence Inn," Rory added._

"What's the Independence Inn?" Logan interrupted.

"It's the inn Mom worked at before she and Sookie opened the Dragonfly," Rory told him quickly. He nodded in understanding.

"_I'd been at work all day, and by the time I got home, later than usual, I only had a few minutes to change before heading to Hartford for dinner."_

"_And grandma and grandpa always except us dressed for dinner," Rory interjected again._

"Do you want to tell the story?" Lorelai asked her.

"Sorry." Rory made the motion of zipping her lips.

"_So I'm upstairs in my closet trying to find something to wear, and I come across this shirt that Christopher bought me as a joke one time."_

"Dad bought you that shirt?" Rory asked interrupting again.

"Yes, he thought it was funny. Didn't you know that?"

"No!"

"Well now you do, can I get back to my story?" Rory nodded.

"_It was a bright blue shirt, with a rhinestone penis on it. Just looking at it made the thought of dealing with my mother more bearable, so I decided it wouldn't hurt to wear the shirt, under something else of course. So I pull on the shirt, with a black skirt and jacket. The jacket does a pretty good job hiding the shirt, you could only see a few of the rhinestones, the curve at the top of the penis. If nothing else it kind of looked like a decorative arc."_

Logan was turning a little pink listening to his girlfriend's mother describe the rhinestone penis.

"_So anyhow, I'm dressed, Rory's dressed, and we head off for Hartford. We arrive right on time…" _

"_For once," Rory added._

"_The maid lets us in and asks for our jackets. I refused to part with mine of course, and when we're in the living room for cocktails, my mother starts asking why I'm wearing my jacket. 'Lorelai, it's 80 degrees outside, why on earth are you wearing that jacket?' 'Well Mom, it's not 80 degrees in here so I'm feeling a little chilly.' I try to convince her, but she won't let it go. 'I can see the sweat beads on your forehead Lorelai, take off your jacket.'"_

Rory began to laugh at the memory.

"Hush, you!" Lorelai told her.

"_So I tell my mother that I'm fine, but she insists. So I finally take off the jacket and reveal the blue shirt in all its glory. 'Lorelai Victoria Gilmore, what is on your shirt?' Emily asks. 'A penis,' I tell her. 'Come on Mom, you're married, you have to know what one of these is.' I look over and my father is turning four shades of red by the drink cart. 'Lorelai, put your jacket back on,' Emily insists, but now I'm feeling stubborn, so I tell her, 'you wanted it off, it's staying off.' I probably would have left the jacket off in sub arctic temperatures by that time."_

Now Logan couldn't help but laugh out loud either.

"_So the maid calls us to dinner, and we all sit down," Lorelai started up again._

"_Most awkward dinner ever," Rory added._

"_Dad blushes every time he looks at me, and Mom keeps staring over my head when she chooses to address me."_

"_Which is mainly to ask what she thinks she's teaching me," Rory interjected again._

"_I told her, that I was teaching Rory to obey her elders," Lorelai said with a laugh. "I thought my mother was going to die. She was so angry she had to excuse herself from the table."_

"That wasn't why she excused herself from the table and you know it!" Rory said.

"Well, that's what I thought at the time," Lorelai said.

"Why'd she excuse herself then?" Logan asked curiously.

"To have Mom's car towed!" Rory told him with a laugh.

"_So two torturous hours later we finally get to leave, we get outside and the Jeep is gone."_

Logan laughed, "I guess I know better than to mess with Emily Gilmore."

"Oh she didn't have the last laugh," Lorelai told him. "We called her car service to take us home, and then had the driver take us to Boston for the night instead, billed the whole thing to her account."

"Okay, I guess I know better than to mess with any Gilmore," Logan amended, still laughing.

Manny brought out a third tray of plates, but these ones were desserts, as Logan dug into a fruit tart he glanced up at Rory and asked, "So what did Emily do when she found out about the bill for the driver?"

"You know, I don't actually know," she told him. "Mom do you know?"

"She never said anything, but I'm guessing that's why she hosts her DAR gatherings here at the inn, and makes them exceedingly difficult."

The three of them laughed, and began to trade a selection of delicious desserts.

"So Lorelai," Logan started. "Do you still have that shirt?"

"Yeah I think so, why?"

"Can Rory borrow it if we ever have to go to one of my family functions again?" he asked.

She laughed, "Of course. Rory, I think I like this one!"

* * *

**AN: Okay – this is the end. What did you think? **

**A couple of things – First, I felt that Christopher and Lorelai being out of society made it so they wouldn't have any affect on the Huntzbergers. They could be upset, but it wouldn't do any good, hence the retribution coming from the Hayden and Gilmore grandparents. Second, I completely made up the rhinestone penis shirt story. Third, I think that Logan sticking up for Rory would make Lorelai like him, at least a little bit. **

**Thank you so much for reading – and I hope you enjoyed it. S**

**(and the plug for the others – Check out Stars Hollow on Shuffle and Winning Back the Gilmore Girls! I'll probably have the next shuffle up tonight or tomorrow!)**


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